David Letterman’s First Late Night Show Was Weirder, Wilder, And Funnier Than Anything On TV Now

You’re going to be reading a lot about David Letterman‘s comedy legacy today. After all, tonight will be the 68-year-old comic and host’s last Late Show. A 33-year-long late night comedy career is about to end, and people get nostalgic about that sort of stuff. But Letterman’s departure is a bigger deal. He’s the last of the 20th century Late Night titans. More importantly, he’s the man who paved the way not only for the smart-alecky humor of Conan O’Brien, Tina Fey, and his successor, Stephen Colbert, but also the absurdist humor of Adult Swim.

Letterman was allowed to experiment with the form in a way that hosts simply can’t today. It was a new show in a new timeslot. There was no history. There were no rivals. There was no internet. In short, there were zero expectations. It could be whatever Letterman wanted it to be, and Letterman wanted it weird. How do we know this? Well, sure, other people have written about it, but we also watched it. Yeah, you can stream Letterman’s first episode hosting NBC’s Late Night program on YouTube.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPjMCzFb1AY]

The episode doesn’t start with fun or fanfare, but a strange man warning viewers away. It’s more like The Twilight Zone than it is like the Late Show we know today.

Next, there’s a bunch of dancing girls dressed like peacocks and a “man on the street” sketch that’s all about how people want a show about metal work. Smart sketches, like one about Letterman exposing the “shame of the city,” follow.

But what makes this first episode so exceptional is how fully formed it is. The self-deprecating humor, the snarky sketches, and Paul Schaffer and his band… it’s all there. Letterman’s experimentation with the form doesn’t feel arbitrary. Letterman has always pushed his audience and refused to pander to his guests. He’s letting Bill Murray talk about pandas and break into a performance of Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” because that’s the show he wants to put on.

He’s also letting Dr. Wizard perform slightly dirty science tricks because that’s also the show he wants to put on.

And do you know what? It’s a brilliant show. It’s hilarious and daring and so much fun to watch. When the lights go dark tonight on the Late Show, we won’t just be saying goodbye to a television personality; we’ll be saluting a comedy pioneer who kept pushing the genre with the type of confidence and passion that’s been sadly lost.